There Will Be 4 Identity Types in This Recovery. Which One Are You? Become a conscious creator and feel motivated, focused and driven to achieve your goals.
By Ben Angel
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The following article is based on excerpts from Ben Angel's book, Unstoppable: A 90-Day Plan to Biohack Your Mind and Body for Success. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes Noble | iBooks | IndieBound. And be sure to order The Unstoppable Journal, the only journal of its kind based on neuroscience, psychology, and biohacking to help you reach your goals.
Nearly half of adults in the United States reported that their mental health had been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Adverse mental-health effects due to social isolation may be particularly pronounced among older adults and households with adolescents, as these groups are already at risk for depression or suicidal ideation.
The pandemic is likely to have both long- and short-term implications for mental health and substance use. Those with mental health concerns pre-pandemic, and those newly affected, will likely require mental health- and substance-use services. Keeping this in mind, you must know where you sit on the mental-health continuum to understand how it is affecting you physically. When people undergo traumatic stress either mentally or physically, it creates a pattern within the body that soon emanates into psychological and biological side effects. You can now track where you fall into this continuum by taking an Identity Quiz on how well you are coping with your current situation. We have been able to survey more than 50,000 entrepreneurs and found out 54 percent of them fall into the two lowest categories: The Guardian and The Defender.
Related: 5 Ways to Boost Your Immune System During the Coronavirus Outbreak
There are four identity types in total: The Catalyst, The Synergist, The Guardian and The Defender. Your goal is to ensure your physical and psychological energy stays above a 50 percent charge, the state at which you become a conscious creator and feel motivated, focused, and driven to achieve your goals.
When you fall below this state, you switch into a state of self-preservation mode where you run out of physical and emotional energy. This is where your fight-or-flight response is triggered and your brain prioritizes vital bodily functions over personal or career goals.
Below, you're going to learn which identities we need to be most concerned about and what you can do to change your identity to help you through these harrowing times.
The Defender
Operating at 0- 25 percent of their capacity. Traits of Defenders:
Rely heavily on caffeine or other stimulants to make it through the day.
Food cravings of sugars and carbs.
Anxiety.
Lack self-awareness and typically have low self-esteem.
Cognitive functions are in severe decline, like forgetting names, numbers or information; inability to make decisions.
Low levels of concentration.
Quick to exhaustion as brain doesn't have the fuel it needs to focus.
Chronic digestive issues, joint pain, skin rashes and unexplainable brain fog and fatigue.
Insomnia.
Defenders are depressed, anxious and struggle to make it through the day. Many will blame this on a poor mental attitude and feel they are lazy. They are emotionally depleted and need love and support from others, including medical professionals, to help them get their health and their life back. Defenders must seek out medical and professional help immediately.
The Guardian
Operating at 25-50 percent of their capacity. Traits of Guardians:
Procrastination and criticism derail their efforts.
They can keep going, briefly relying on willpower.
They have goals, but they seem unattainable.
Self-doubt has laid its foundation.
Chronic stress.
Nutritional deficiencies taking their toll.
Poor diet and lifestyle choices.
Less energy and focus.
Takes longer to recover from physical or emotional events.
They can endure for some time, but this constant state of fight or flight is taking its toll on many of their bodily and brain functions. It's typically the first time in their life they can't function as they used to, and many in the medical field will tell them it's typical aging and prescribe a drug to help alleviate the symptoms without treating or accurately defining the cause.
The Synergist
Operates at 50-75 percent of their capacity. Traits of Synergists:
Learning to balance willpower with sustainable energy, though starting to find it harder to maintain willpower alone.
Energy levels tend to fluctuate throughout the day.
Focus and concentration also varies throughout the day; unable to maintain constant energy.
They have an inner understanding that rest helps to reset the body for long-term success.
Relatively even moods.
Deliberate and conscious creators.
Not easily distracted.
Can quickly slide back into a Guardian if they fail to look after their physical and emotional health.
The Catalyst
Operates at 75-100 percent of capacity. Traits of Catalysts:
Greatly self-aware of how their brain and body works for peak performance.
Abundance of psychological and physical energy to fuel them daily.
Able to troubleshoot problems calmly and methodically.
Able to pinpoint underlying issues and correct them successfully.
Operates from the higher executive part of their brain.
Strengthens their cognition through meditation, education, supplements and a healthy diet.
Are society's game changers, both locally and globally.
Yes, we all can become The Catalyst, but it takes self-awareness and courage to dig deep into the root causation of your illnesses. Here are the first steps you should do to get yourself on the path to becoming unstoppable.
3 Steps to Become a Peak-Performing Catalyst
If you scored as a Guardian or Defender, you mustn't go on this health journey on your own. Finding a functional medicine doctor who specializes in chronic conditions will have the additional training needed to get to the root cause of your concerns. Following the steps below will aid in your knowledge of brain and body consciousness so you can increase your energy and build emotional and physical resilience to manage these stressful times.
1. Keep a food journal
Food sensitivities can trigger a range of issues, including; fatigue, bloating, brain fog, respiratory problems (e.g. asthma, sinusitis, rhinitis), headaches/migraines, depression, anxiety and sadness. They cause an inflammatory response in the body. Keep a food journal for a minimum of 30 days to track your mood and links to food. For a comprehensive report, you can order a food sensitivity test from companies such as Everlywell.
2. Address nutritional deficiencies
According to one study, 92 percent of the U.S. population has a nutritional deficiency. Nutritional deficiencies can occur regardless of whether an individual eats a healthy diet or not. This is due to farmland soil becoming deficient in essential micronutrients. Before you supplement, visit a functional doctor and have a full blood test done. Your doctor will be able to uncover any deficiencies that are impacting your physical or mental performance.
3. Improve focus, memory and energy through nootropics
Nootropics are smart drugs or synthetic substances taken to improve mental cognition in healthy individuals. Consult your doctor before taking it. If we do not replenish ourselves, it can lead to burn out, exhaustion and depression. L-Tyrosine, L-Theanine, L-Carnitine, Magnesium, vitamin D and Ashwagandha are but a few nootropics that can help you maintain proper brain function. They are go-tos for Silicon Valley elite.
With all of us dealing with this new normal, we can optimize this time to go within and discover what is holding us back. Many of you suffering from depression, anxiety and fatigue may find the answer within these lines to help you get your body and mind back to optimal performance.
Related: 7 Signs Your Gut Is Affecting Your Mental HealthVisit www.areyouunstoppable.com and take your FREE 60-second online quiz now. By answering a series of simple questions, my software will analyze your results and provide you with a comprehensive report that will indicate your identity type and lead you to the tools and tips you need to close that gap between who you are and who you could become. Take the quiz to get started!
